Inspiring tales of courage and kindness by 'Perfect Strangers' after Marathon bombings

Sunday

Apr 20, 2014 at 7:21 PMApr 20, 2014 at 7:21 PM

By Christ BergeronDaily News staff

After the first bomb exploded, Matt Smith ran - for reasons he still can’t understand - into the chaos to help a stranger named Zach Mione staunch the bleeding of seriously wounded bystander Sydney Corcoran, probably saving her life.Their stories come vividly alive in "If Not For The Perfect Stranger,’’ a collection of inspiring tales of kindness and courage following the Boston Marathon bombing edited by Diane Montiel and Steve Alexander.Even after all the articles and television reports about the 2013 bombing that left three people dead and 260 injured, these 45 stories reveal an almost contagious human decency in the midst of a crisis that will warm the heart of the most hardened cynic.A stranger gave Alison Hatfield orange juice. Army Sgt. Chris Spielhagen bandaged a woman’s bleeding leg with a stranger’s windbreaker. Runner Kathy Glabicky was standing in the middle of the road, shivering when an older woman gave her a jacket and cell phone and calmed her nerves by helping her contact her husband.A husband-and-wife team writing team, Alexander and Montiel had seen her daughter, Katie Vidaillet, cross the finish line when the twin blasts transformed "the holy grail of Marathons’’ into a seeming battleground.In the immediate aftermath of the twin blasts, Montiel saw "regular people’’ running toward the smoke and debris to help strangers despite the possibility there were more bombs."I thought, ‘What do they think they’re doing. They’re going where they don’t need to. They’re heroes,’ ’’ she recalled.Back home in Chicago a few days later, they heard an interview with Corcoran’s mother who said, "If not for a perfect stranger, my daughter would have died.’’ The idea for their book began to take shape.Over the next few months, they contacted about 50 runners, first responders, spectators and found all but a few were willing to share their stories, including several that were "quite raw.’’Like fellow Chicagoan Studs Terkel, Alexander described his role as a writer as "to help people tell their stories.’’Usually Montiel would do the interviewing and Alexander would fine tune her background information, atmospherics and quotes into compelling stories.Their collection includes a few familiar names like former Mayor Thomas Menino and father-and-son team Dick and Rick Hoyt. But mostly, everyday folks like finish line volunteer Dr. Pierre Rouzier, firefighter Jimmy Plourde and triage nurse Susan Papalia speak matter-of-factly about lending a hand and saving lives without any phony heroics or affectations.In a cynical age, Montiel and Alexander have chronicled uplifting tales of decency and grace. Readers will likely wonder, "What would I have done in those circumstances.’’Perhaps restaurant employee Janis Mederios, who helped blast victims, summed it up best when she said, "I don’t think we’re heroes. I think we were the people that were in the wrong place at the wrong time and just did the right thing.’’"If Not For The Perfect Stranger’’ is available at Barnes & Nobles stores, Amazon.com in print, Kindle, Nook, iTunes and Song E-Reader or by visiting www.bantrybaybooks.com.Chris Bergeron is a Daily News staff writer. Contact him at cbergeron@wickedlocal.com or 508-626-4448. Follow us on Twitter @WickedLocalArts and on Facebook."If Not for the Perfect Stranger"Edited by Diane Montiel and Steve Alexander Bantry Bay Publishing 303 Pages, $16.95 softcover